U.S., EU to impose new sanctions on Russia this week

• The United States and Europe will slap new sanctions against Russia this week.

• "Russia is headed for economic contraction" because of existing Western sanctions, said an U.S. official.

• The U.S. and European leaders also discussed situations in Gaza, Iraq and Libya.

WASHINGTON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Europe will slap new sanctions against Russia this week in the wake of its continued assistance to rebels in eastern Ukraine, U.S. media reported Monday.

"We expect the European Union to take significant steps" this week to target Russia's economy, news website The Hill quoted Tony Blinken, U.S. President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser, as saying.

Blinken said the United States will also impose additional costs itself, according to The Hill.

On Monday, Obama spoke about these next steps in a video conference call with British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Blinken said.

"Russia is headed for economic contraction, not growth, which is a reversal" because of existing Western sanctions, said Blinken, who did not elaborate on the details of the forthcoming sanctions.

Over the conference call on Monday, the world leaders stressed the continued need for unrestricted access to the shoot-down site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 to allow for recovery of victims' remains and for international investigators to proceed with their efforts, the White House said in a statement.

The U.S. and European leaders also discussed situations in Gaza, Iraq and Libya, said the statement.

On the situation in Gaza, the leaders agreed on the need for an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire, noting shared concern about the risk of further escalation and the loss of more innocent lives.

Israel launched a large-scale operation on July 8 on the Gaza Strip, which has so far left 1,030 Palestinians and 43 Israelis killed and more than 6,000 Palestinians injured.

The leaders also discussed the security challenges in Iraq, welcoming developments in the political process, and urging the swift completion of the formation of an inclusive government, the statement said.

With respect to Libya, they agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire among militias in Tripoli, called for the seating of the newly elected Council of Representatives, and underscored support for the UN in seeking a resolution to this conflict, it added.

Libya has seen a drastic escalation of violence since the 2011 turmoil which toppled its former leader Muammar Gaddafi. The recent battle between Islamist fighters and pro-secular militias around Tripoli's international airport has killed at least 97 and wounded 404, paralyzing most of the air traffic in the north African country.

WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS/MOSCOW, July 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. and European leaders agreed on Monday to slap wider sanctions on Russia this week, while Moscow and Kiev continued to point fingers at each other over the escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine.

The punitive measures, targeting Russia's financial, energy and defense sectors, are driven by allegations that Russia has been involved in the July 17 downing of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which killed all 298 people on board. Full story

MOSCOW, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Saturday accused the European Union (EU) of curtailing bilateral cooperation over international and regional security issues by imposing new sanction measures against it.

"The new sanction list is a direct indication that the EU countries have chosen the course toward fully phasing out interaction with Russia on international and regional security sphere," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Full story